𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞: 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧

Detention for Harry went as well as it could possibly have been, he thanked Merlin that he didn't have to make permanent scratches on his hand this time around.

Compared to that, sweeping floors was a walk in the park.

Two weeks had gone by since then, and the air was becoming more crisp and damp.

Once again, Harry found himself gazing out of the window, only from the safety of his dorm this time. Rain pattered with the sound of pebbles hitting stone, a low thunder was heard far off in the distance.

A flash of lighting illuminated his face, and Harry became struck with a sudden urge to be outside.

The "getting wet" part of being near or in water didn't seem to cross his mind until he had stepped off the threshold of the Entrance Hall and his jumper and trousers immediately clung to his body.

He stood still for a moment, looking for a purpose to be where he was.

He saw it, far out in the distance, contrasting with the dark sky and sheet of rain. A blond head of hair, stuck to a pale, pointed face.

The way he stood perfectly still by the edge of the lake, with only the movement of his cloak billowing behind him, brought on the image of a lost crow once more.

"Malfoy!" Harry yelled to him from his place in the courtyard. "Hey! Malfoy!"

Draco looked up to him, startled by the sudden presence of another person.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Potter?"

Harry didn't answer, only taking his reply as an invitation to come closer to the blond boy. Standing beside him, Harry felt a rush of warmth, although he wasn't sure if Draco had put up any warming charms.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Draco, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Nothing, really. Wanted to be outside."

"It's almost nine o'clock. And pouring. Are you looking to get another lighting bolt scar?" Draco smirked in his direction.

"Real funny," Harry scoffed, "I just wanted to be outside. I don't know."

"You don't know?" Draco appeared almost concerned now, "Excuse my bluntness, but I believe it is a conscious decision to run outside in a thunderstorm in the dark."

"You're out here," Harry pointed out the obvious.

"Your point?"

"Why?"

Draco sighed. A puff of breath similar to smoke blew out from his mouth.

"I like to be alone," he said softly.

Harry thought for a moment.

"But not now though?" he questioned, although he was stating what he thought to be a fact.

"What makes you think that?" A frown made its way onto his pale face

"Well, you're here, and I'm here, you despise everything about me, and you haven't asked me to leave yet, so you must not want to be alone."

Another silence filled the frigid air around them for much longer this time. Harry shivered, Draco noticed.

He looked away again, out at the vast lake. A soft moonlight shimmered the water from behind the clouds, flashing every so often with electricity.